Kenny Cress / Times Sports Writer | Posted: Saturday, September 21, 2002 12:00 am
Santa Maria High quarterback Brad Bowen was in a precarious position.
The Saints had a 10-point lead and their defense had just stopped Dos Pueblos running back Kyle McCaskey a half yard short of the goal line to give Santa Maria the ball back with 38 seconds left. Bowen could not take a knee to end the game, since he would have been in the end zone for a Chargers safety had he done so.
Saints offensive tackle Matt Leyden had a solution. "He told me to do a hard count," Bowen said. Bowen did, the Chargers jumped offside, and Bowen had the margin he needed to kneel down for the last play of the Saints/ 31-21 win at fog-shrouded Dave Boyd Field Friday night.
Santa Maria squared its record at 1-1. Dos Pueblos is 0-2.
Leyden figured correctly that the Chargers would be charging on Bowen/s first "hut!" So, "He told me, /Why don/t you go on two?/," Bowen said. "So I did (the ball was to be snapped on the second /hut!/ instead of the first)."
Afterward, "I was, like, /you/re a genius, you/re our MVP,/" Bowen said.
"I knew they would be coming hard off the ball," Leyden said. So Bowen suckered the Chargers with a hard count. They did indeed go hard on the first "hut!" Trouble was, the ball had not been snapped yet.
Earlier, the Chargers appeared headed toward a score and a last-gasp onside kick. But Saints defenders Jereme Verdin, Pete Gonzalez, Alex Mendoza and Josh Liendo nailed McCaskey short of the goal line on fourth down.
"Our defense stopped him as a team," Gonzalez said. "We wanted it more."
On offense Gonzalez gave the Saints their first lead, at 17-14 with a 4-yard run with 8:41 left in the third quarter. Pablo Ramos had 121 yards on the night and he set the touchdown up with a 62-yard run to the Chargers 14. A facemask penalty against Dos Pueblos put the ball on the 7.
The evening featured Victor Velasco/s 51-yard field goal - with no wind at his back - that drew Santa Maria within 14-10 as time expired in the first half.
Velasco/s kick landed several yards beyond the crossbar. "I thought it was good when I kicked it," he said. "I/ve been working hard on kicking during the summer, and that/s what helped me made that kick. I/m ready for the record."
The Santa Maria school field goal distance record is 53 yards, set by Matt Almaguer in 1986. That one hit the crossbar and bounced over. Velasco/s kick was good by plenty.
After Dos Pueblos/ first two touchdowns, the Saints defense stifled the Chargers as Santa Maria scored 24 unanswered points. The Saints seemed to have the game well in hand when Bowen/s 22-yard run and Velasco/s extra point put them ahead 24-14 with 10:20 left in the game.
But Santa Maria/s tacklers got sloppy after Dos Pueblos quarterback Shane Lopes dropped a snap from the shotgun formation. Instead of tackling Lopes for a loss, the Saints missed several shots at Lopes and he sprinted in for a 62-yard touchdown run. Jereme Waxman/s extra point cut the Dos Pueblos deficit to 24-21 with 9:37 to go.
"Obviously we have some work to do on our tackling," said Saints coach Jim Doyle.
Santa Maria gave itself some breathing room by driving 59 yards in 2:25. Bowen scored from 8 yards out, diving and stretching the ball just over the goal line with 3:02 to play. The Chargers made a last bid, but the Saints defense/s big stop on McCaskey snuffed that out.
Early on, the Saints/ play was as dreary as the weather. Bowen was having trouble handling the bal, and Santa Maria lost two fumbles in the first half. Both led to Dos Pueblos touchdowns, a 3-yard run by McCaskey and a 5-yarder by Joseph Braun. The Saints found themselves down 14-0 with 9:34 left before halftime.
Cabrillo 29, Bishop Diego 6
LOMPOC 77 The Conquistadores (1-2) got a badly needed confidence boost with a win over the Cardinals (0-2) at Lompoc High/s Huyck Field.
Cabrillo had been outscored by a total of 98-7 in its two losses, but it led throughout this time. Lydell Sargeant got the Conquistadores rolling by returning the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown.
After the Cardinals closed to within 8-6, Sargeant did it again. This time he ran the kickoff back 74 yards for a score. Matt Hansen gave Cabrillo some insurance with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Adam Drake with 7:01 left in the third quarter.
Salinas 20, Atascadero 17
ATASCADERO 77 Francisco Araujo/s 35-yard field goal as time ran out sank the Greyhounds (1-1).
Salinas rallied from 10-3 down to win this one. The visitors chalked up 17 points in the fourth quarter.
Salinas took a 17-10 lead on Ryan Laughton/s 44-yard pass to Chris Choate. Atascadero quarterback Harrison Higbee answered with a 1-yard run, and Brennan Myracle/s extra point tied the game at 17-all. But Araujo/s dramatic field goal followed.
Palma 29, Paso Robles 28
SALINAS 77 Another area team went down against a Salinas squad. In this one, a 2-yard run with 2:11 to play won the game for Palma.
Palma started quickly and led 14-0 in the second quarter. The Bearcats (1-1) then rallied on two touchdown passes by Adrian Pennywell.
Oxnard 21, SLO 14
OXNARD 77 The Yellowjackets stung the Tigers (1-1) with 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers led 14-6 going into the final quarter, but Oxnard overtook them with the two fourth-quarter scores.
San Luis Obispo mustered just five first downs and 126 yards of total offense.Paul Jordan led the Tigers with 84 yards on 20 carries.
Nordhoff 28, Santa Ynez 14
OJAI 77 The Rangers squared their record at 1-1 and dropped the Pirates to 0-2.
Nordhoff rushed for 199 yards, totaling 309 yards of offense.
Tennis
Mission Viejo 12, Santa Maria 6
The Saints dropped all nine singles games, but scored six doubles wins in a non-league loss.
Sascha Conrad and Claire Lozano had a 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 sweep at No. 1 doubles.
Water Polo
Riverside Poly Tournament
RIVERSIDE 77 Righetti dropped a 13-10 decision to Murietta Valley, the No. 1 team in CIF Division V, in the tournament quarterfinals.
Matt Dale led the Warriors (3-1 overall) with four goals, while Nick McGilvray added three and Chris Yee had two.
COLLEGE
Women/s soccer
Glendale 3, Hancock 0
The Bulldogs (3-2, 3-4) had a two-game winning streak going, but they were flat against against the Vaqueros (4-2, 5-3) in this Western State Conference inter-division game.
September 21, 2002